This perfect piece of goldwork wizardry is part of the
grave-robbers' bounty that Peter the Great acquired.
Buried in pre-Christian barrows, unearthed by grave-robbers and acquired by Peter the Great for his personal collection, the Scythian gold's long history culminated last week in the opening of a dazzling exhibition at the Hermitage Museum.
The jewellery, ornaments and sword handles, dating back as far as the 7th century BC, are making their first public appearance in Russia since 1991.
The Scythian gold was displayed only in museums outside the country after the Hermitage's Gallery of Jewels was closed five years ago for renovation.
"I was tired of people coming here from abroad especially to see the Scythian gold, and not being able to, so we did the work as quickly as we could," said Dr Boris Piotrovsky, director of the Hermitage.
Many of the gold artifacts were discovered by graverobbers in the North Caucasus, Western Siberia and the Black Sea region at the beginning of the 18th century.
The treasures include a piece of armor depicting a banquet and a warrior defending himself against a marauding griffin.
Not the most beautiful item, but easily the largest, is a ritual bowl about a meter (3.3 feet) in diameter and a similarly oversized spoon.
Possibly conclusive evidence that the ogres of Russian fairy tales did indeed exist?